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Driving with your handbrake still engaged (also known as the parking brake) can certainly result in damage to your car’s braking system.
The amount of damage will depend on how far you’ve driven and also how tightly the handbrake was engaged. It’s common to not completely release the brake without realising it. In this instance damage is likely to be minimal.
Parking brakes are engaged by either pulling a lever, or in the case of electric parking brakes, lifting a button.
In vehicles with a manual lever, the lever is typically connected to a cable that squeezes a set of brake shoes against brake drums, which are usually on the rear wheels. Vehicles with disc brakes for all four wheels but with manual parking brakes, usually have a dedicated drum brake system integrated with the rear brake discs.
In vehicles where the parking brake is engaged electrically, there is no cable, and the pads are engaged electrically against the rear discs. A key advantage of electric parking brakes is that they usually automatically disengage once you start driving.
In vehicles where the parking brake is engaged by pulling a lever, leaving the handbrake engaged creates friction in the rear brakes, which generates heat.
The longer you drive with the brake on, the more heat you generate. This will accelerate the wear on your brake pads, potentially damage the drums and/or rotors, and put excessive heat into the brake fluid.
The excessive wear can also put your parking brake cable out of adjustment. In most modern cars, a parking brake light indicator on the dashboard will light up if the parking brake has been left on. You may also feel some resistance as you drive, which is usually enough to alert you if you haven’t noticed the brake light warning.
If you haven’t driven far or have simply not completely disengaged the brake lever, the damage is likely to be minimal. However, if you can smell burning, there may be some damage, which is best checked by a qualified mechanic.
